Kumar Bahukhandi
The External Affairs Minister met with the Pakistani Parliament Speaker (Photo: @ChiefAdviserGoB/X)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had an informal meeting with the Speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The meeting took place during the funeral of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who was Bangladesh’s first female Prime Minister.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, the Speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly (NA), in Dhaka on Wednesday December 31, 2025 .
The brief, informal meeting between the two leaders was announced by Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, via social media.
External Affairs Minister Jaishankar is in Dhaka to attend the funeral of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. This meeting between the Indian and Pakistani leaders comes at a time when tensions between the two countries are at their peak following a four-day conflict in May of this year.
Tweeting pictures of External Affairs Minister Jaishankar’s meeting with the Pakistani leader, Yunus wrote on X, “Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, greeted India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Dhaka on Wednesday before the funeral ceremony of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.”
Jaishankar and Pakistani Minister Meet at Khaleda Zia’s Residence
The meeting between the two leaders took place at Khaleda Zia’s residence. Khaleda Zia passed away on Tuesday at the age of 80. She was Bangladesh’s first female Prime Minister and one of the country’s most influential political figures.
She was given a state funeral in Bangladesh. The national flag was flown at half-mast, and thousands of security personnel were deployed on the streets of Dhaka as her body, draped in the national flag, was carried in a vehicle. The entire city of Dhaka turned out for her funeral.
World leaders and senior officials from several countries, including India and Pakistan, arrived in Dhaka to attend Zia’s funeral. The picture shared by Yunus shows the two leaders shaking hands. A formal smile was visible on both their faces. They exchanged pleasantries without engaging in any formal conversation. No details of any formal discussion have been reported.
Indian and Pakistani Leaders Meet for the First Time Since the May 2025 War
This meeting between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Pakistani Speaker Ayaz Sadiq is the first interaction between top Indian and Pakistani officials since May 2025. In May 2025, India and Pakistan fought a four-day war in which Pakistan suffered a crushing defeat.
The war was triggered by a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, orchestrated by Pakistan. Pakistani-sponsored terrorists attacked Pahalgam in Kashmir on April 22, killing 26 people and injuring dozens.
India held Pakistan responsible for the terrorist attack. Tensions between the two countries escalated significantly, and on May 7, India launched Operation Sindoor. This operation targeted terrorists and their bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Pakistan retaliated, but India’s air defense system successfully thwarted the attack.
In its successful operation, India inflicted considerable damage on Pakistani terrorist bases and killed at least 100 terrorists. Since this war, relations between India and Pakistan have become even more strained.
